Following the Crowd: Waterfront Living Comes with a Price

NOAA Working to Encourage Smart Coastal Growth

Americans love to live and vacation on the water. More than half of Americans live along U.S. coasts (including the Great lakes), and about 180 million people visit coastal areas every year.

For many people, waterfront towns and cities hold a special sense of place. It might be their rich maritime history, beautiful locale, or close connection to nature — the hypnotic roar of the waves or the feel of soft breezes blowing off the water.

But being popular comes with a price tag: as more people move to and visit the coast, development of commercial space, residences, and roads is sure to follow. Uncontrolled coastal development can damage ecosystems, threaten economies, and restrict public access to water and beaches.

Overdeveloped or poorly designed coastal areas that suffer damage from hurricanes and severe storms can also cost local, state and federal governments millions in disaster relief funding.

Grow Smarter, Not Larger

NOAA helps coastal communities plan development that protects both their sense of place and economic prosperity.

NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and Coastal Services Center teamed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the International City/County Management Association, and Rhode Island Sea Grant to create a first-of-its-kind guide to smart growth principles specifically designed to help coastal and waterfront communities plan ecologically and socially conscious development.

Another Way of Doing Business

Some historic and popular seaside towns are great examples of smart growth planning.

Portland, Oregon, at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers has made the connection between how it grows and the health of its rivers. In addition to its many efforts to build compactly within existing neighborhoods, Portland has created green infrastructure policies that support compact design. Its comprehensive Metropolitan Greenspaces Program acquires natural areas and trails to give people places for recreation while protecting the city's water quality, floodplains, and fish and wildlife habitat.

Ogunquit, Maine, extended an historic seaside trail so residents and visitors can both walk along two miles of beautiful coastline and have easy foot access to and from the nearby vibrant, mixed-use downtown. One end of the trail stops at a small working harbor that also has shops and restaurants that reflect the town’s waterfront character.

Providence, R.I., is an example of how smart growth can revitalize a community’s waterfront character and economy, while protecting its historic and natural resources. Providence transformed Downcity, a rundown industrial riverfront, into a renovated historic and arts district, then connected it to Waterplace Park and Riverwalk, public riverfront spaces that draw thousands of residents and visitors.

As coastal populations continue to grow, planning tools and guidance like the smart growth principles will be even more important to help waterfront communities make decisions about how development will affect their environment, economy, and quality of life for decades to come.